Yoenis Cespedes returning to the Mets: Four Years, $110 Million

Yoenis Cespedes will remain “the guy” in Queens, and Justin Turner just moved up to being the marquee free agent bat on the market this winter.

Cespedes signs a four year pact worth $110 million dollars to remain a Met after being whispered in several high-profile destinations.

The left fielder will earn $22.5 million in 2017, followed by $29 million in 2018-19 and $29.5 million in 2020. His average annual value (AAV) of $27.5 million per year is the highest ever for an outfielder, and will have the second-highest AAV for a current position player behind the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera ($31 million).

Cespedes’ three-year WAR figures have been 3.3, 6.7, 3.2. That makes him a Robinson Cano or Brandon Crawford value-wise to the saber crowd. After being regarded as a talented player that wasn’t reaching his potential in Oakland, he’s now seen as a star. He’s the guy in the Mets lineup that you hold off the Shake Shack concession stand order for a few more minutes.

The consensus is that the Mets are gearing up and going for it because they brought him back. However, I see a rotation that is somewhat a question mark now with the injuries to their arms and a lineup that is otherwise in some flux.

I was personally hoping Cespedes landed elsewhere.